Time Off? We're an Ocean Apart

Published: July 7, 2003

To the Editor:

''Modern German Duty: The Obligation to Play'' (Letter From Europe, July 2) struggles to explain the contrast between the European belief in ''an inalienable right to an idle August'' and the contentment with which most Americans seem to accept their smallest allotment of leisure in the developed world.

I think that one of the main reasons is peer pressure in the United States. Most American expatriates in Europe quickly acquire a taste for ''long'' vacations once they realize that nobody will think of them as slackers for taking a few weeks off or, conversely, reward them for forfeiting some of their legitimate annual leave. In fact, many American expats, homesick as they may otherwise be, dread ever going back to American-style short vacations.